Chicken Breasts

July 3, 2008 /

This affordable cut of white meat is sold with or without skin, boneless or on the bone. Boneless chicken breasts are perfect for quick, simple recipes, but they are also easy to overcook. In many of our recipes, we ask you to flatten boneless chicken breasts to make sure that they cook evenly. Bone-in chicken breasts tend to be juicier and more flavorful.

HOW TO BUY

Chicken is labeled in a variety of ways that indicate how the product was raised or produced. Here’s what the labels mean:

Organic chickens have been fed a diet with no additives, have not been treated with antibiotics, and have been raised under humane conditions.

Natural chickens contain no artificial ingredients or added color. They may have been treated with antibiotics unless otherwise labeled.

Free-range chickens are allowed some room to roam outside the coop-but how much room isn’t regulated. Some-but not all-free-range chickens are raised on a natural diet.

Kosher chickens are slaughtered under Jewish biblical laws, which dictate that, under the supervision of a rabbi, they are killed in the most humane way possible, and soaked and salted during processing.

HOW TO STORE

Keep raw chicken in the coldest part of the refrigerator, wrapped in plastic (but not too tightly) for up to 2 days after purchase. Frozen chicken will last for 6 months if wrapped tightly.